


Ned "Trustworthy" Chicane

by WatchTheAntagonist



Category: The Adventure Zone (Podcast)
Genre: 5+1 Things, First Meetings, Friendship, Gen, Missing Scene, Ned Chicane is a Good Friend, Pre-Canon
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-09-11
Updated: 2019-09-11
Packaged: 2020-10-14 08:41:17
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,445
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20597906
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/WatchTheAntagonist/pseuds/WatchTheAntagonist
Summary: From the rumors circulating around Keplar, one would think that Ned Fucking Chicane was the least trustworthy person to ever walk the earth. Luckily, Duck prefers to make his own judgements of people.Or, Five Times Duck Was Right to Trust Ned (Plus One Time He Wasn’t)





	Ned "Trustworthy" Chicane

**Author's Note:**

> First Adventure Zone Fic! Most of this is set pre-canon, but the last couple chapters will be set during the canon timeline. I love Ned, and wanted more of his and Duck's friendship. Please let me know with a comment or kudos if you enjoy! I really appreciate it:)

Ned Fucking Chicane took Kepler by storm before he even ventured out of the Cryptonomica. This really wasn’t all that surprising. Kepler was a small town. When everybody knows everybody else, the arrival of any newcomer has a tendency to take the town by storm. What was surprising about this time was what exactly the rumors going around the town were saying. The first time these rumors made it to Duck Newton, it was from his neighbor and friend, Leo.

“Hey Duck,” Leo said, rapping his knuckles twice on the door to Duck’s apartment despite the fact that the man had lived next to Duck long enough to know that he never locked his doors. Not much point, in a town like Keplar. Even less point when one was supernaturally tough, though, of course, Duck didn’t know that Leo was aware of that fact. “I brought your groceries.”

“Come on in,” a voice called from inside. Leo opened the door and carried the bags in with him. Duck was hunched over the desk in the corner of the room, working on one of those model things he’s fond of. “Could you just set those on the table? I’ve got my hands full.”

“Right on,” Leo said. He made his way to the kitchen, carefully avoiding stepping on Duck’s fat orange cat as it wove its way between his legs and set the bags down. After taking the stuff that needed to be refrigerated out and putting it away, as Duck was likely to forget if he was caught up in his hobby, he walked back over to Duck and peered over his shoulder. “Hey, that looks pretty good.”

“You think so?” Duck said. Leo took a closer look at the small wooden boat.

“You bet. I like the color you painted it,” Leo said, giving a satisfied nod as he saw Duck’s proud smile. It was a neat little boat, and he was supposed to be encouraging him, after all. Even if he was pretty sure that this wasn’t exactly what Minerva had had in mind when she had given him that particular assignment. He supposed he should be a little frustrated with Duck, but the man was extremely hard to dislike.

“Thanks. So, what’s new?” Duck said.

“Not much. Oh, Veronica came into the general store today. Apparently she hired someone new? Or someone is staying with her? I’m not exactly sure. She just said that she adopted a stray. We had a whole conversation with me thinking that she was talking about a dog, until I asked what breed it was and you know what she said?” Leo said. Duck made a vague grunt, focused more on his model than on the conversation, but Leo continued anyways. “She said he was a burglar.”

After saying goodbye to Leo, Duck barely gave his words another thought. He didn’t know Veronica well. He had used to hang out around the Cryptonomica on occasion with some of the other kids when he was in high school, as the parking lot was usually empty so was a good place to ride around on their boards and smoke. But that was years ago, and it had probably been that long since he had been by the Cryptonomica. The mystery that was this new addition to his town had yet to venture near Duck’s forest, so there was no need for Duck to pay him any mind. Until he started hearing more rumors.

“Did you hear about the con artist that Veronica has working for her now?” Juno asked him one day at work. It was raining pretty hard so there was no way they could do any park matenence outside. Instead, the two of them were camped out in the main building. Though both were happy with the companionable silence they usually shared at work, there was only so long they could listen to the rain before someone had to come up with a topic of conversation.

“Uh, maybe? I think Leo said something about that. I thought he was a burglar,” Duck said.

“From what I hear he’s famous for blackmailing celebrities and ruining their reputations. People are saying that you shouldn’t trust one single word that comes out of his mouth, or he’ll talk you into giving him all your money or something.”

“Shit, you think he’s got something on Veronica?” Duck said, mildly concerned for the woman, who he had fond memories of playfully yelling at his teenage self to get off her property and threatening to grab her shotgun to chase them off, though never following through.

“Nah. I doubt anyone could convince that woman to do anything she didn’t already want to. God knows the council’s been trying to get rid of that old museum thing for years without her giving them an inch.

“Suppose you’re right,” Duck said, nodding along. The conversation moved on, and the long hours passed and their quiet afternoon was interrupted when Deputy Dewey walked through the door.

“What can I help you with, Deputy?” Duck said.

“Well, you see, this new guy has been requesting permits to lead some sort of Bigfoot expedition and the council has been denying it. I just wanted to give you guys a head’s up. You know, in case he tries to do something without the proper permits,” Dewey said. Juno nodded, barely looking up from her sketchbook. “He seems like he might try. This is just between us, but I’ve heard some talk that he might be an escaped felon.”

Duck sighed, recognizing the signs of a call to adventure better than almost anyone else could. Normally, he wouldn’t bother. But it seemed like this man was going to try to get into his forest. Unlicensed tour groups could potentially end up lost, or hurt, or even cause damage to the trees and wildlife. He was going to have to go meet this man and form an opinion for himself.

The Cryptonomica was much as Duck had remembered it from the few occasions when boredom or heat had driven him inside. Weird displays of strange or ordinary object, labels proclaiming paranormal or cryptid origins, and the weird smell that seemed to permeate everything and evaded identification. The little bell on the door rang, and Duck stood awaiting Veronica. There were few enough customers that she usually gave everyone who entered a private tour.

“Welcome to the Cryptonomica!” Called out a smooth, booming voice that was decidedly not Veronica’s gruff growl. “Who has entered our hallowed halls in search of knowledge of the truth?”

“Uh.” Duck looked left to find that the big man who the voice had came from had somehow snuck up next to him silently before giving his declaration. The man’s salt-and-pepper beard was well-kept, and he was dressed professionally. Not exactly what Duck had been expecting from the burglar/con artist/felon/potential danger to his forest, but his nametag proclaimed him to be ‘Ned.’ “I’m a park ranger? Duck Newton?”

“Duck,” Ned said, a moment of puzzlement crossing his strange performance.

“It’s a nickname.”

“Duck, then. How may I help lift the veil from your eyes and reveal the truth behind the truth that you know?” Ned said. “There is so much more to the world than you could dream of, and the Cryptonomica can make all become clear.”

“Nah, I’m good,” Duck said. He had escaped weirdness before and wasn’t eager to enter it again. “Just wanted to stop by and welcome you to town. Wasn’t sure if many people had done that yet.” Duck watched, intrigued, as Ned’s face changed from the mystic teller of knowledge to just a guy. A guy who gave a somewhat unsure smile and a booming laugh.

“That is true, I suppose. There seem to be a couple rumors floating around about me.” Duck nodded in sympathy. He had seen Kepler’s wild rumor wheel at work numerous times in the past. One of the many reasons that Duck preferred to form opinions of people for himself.

“We’re a pretty friendly town, but we can be a little weird about new people. I’m sure it’ll get better after they’ve had time to get used to you,” Duck said. Then, he remembered what Dewey had told him. “Provided that you respect all the forest rules and regulations.” Ned let out another booming laugh and held out his hand.

“That is certainly good to here. I bet that you and I are going to be good friends, Duck Newton,” Ned said with a wide charismatic smile. Duck reached out and took his hand, smiling back. It was hard not to, with Ned Chicane.


End file.
